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UsingLandscapeharacterisation
HistoricUsingHistoric Landscape
Characterisation
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UsingHistoric LandscapeCharacterisation
English Heritages review of HLC
Applications 2002 - 03
Jo Clark, John Darlington& Graham Fairclough
E N G L I S H H E R I T A G E
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Introduction 1
Part 1 Principles & Method 5
Part 2 Applications of Historic Landscape Characterisation 11
Chapter 1 Landscape Management 13
Chapter 2 Landscape Character Assessment and Strategies 21
Chapter 3 Spatial Planning 27
Chapter 4 Partnership, Learning and Outreach 41
Part 3 Looking to the Future 51
Further Reading 61
Acknowledgements 63
Contents
Contents
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Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
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Introduction
Introduction
The historic
landscape in the
Hodder Valley,
Lancashire
LancashireCounty Council
1
Characterisation is an important new
way of managing change in the historic
landscape. Emerging in England and
elsewhere over the past few years, it is
particularly relevant at the landscape
scale. It has distant roots in the 1960s,
in the concept of character articulated
in the 1967 Conservation Area
legislation, while more recent influencesinclude Landscape Character
Assessment and the English Heritage
Historic Landscape Project of 1992-4
(summarised in Yesterdays World,
Tomorrows Landscape, Fairclough et al,
1999). In 1998 characterisation, by then
endorsed by PPG7 and PPG15, was
brought to the foreground by the joint
Countryside Commission/English
Heritage/English Nature project that
produced the Countryside Character
Map. It is also visible in the principles ofworks such as Roberts and Wrathmells
Settlement Atlas of 2000. Finally it is a
primary vehicle for achieving the goals
and aspirations of the European
Landscape Convention.
Initiatives such as this made the leap
from the confines of selected special
areas or sites, to the bigger picture of
the historic environment as a whole,
whether nationally or at the scale of acomplete county or a town. They
formed part of a general move towards
more integrated and holistic modes of
management and understanding, which
paved the way for the Historic
Landscape Characterisation (HLC)
programme.
Historic Landscape Characterisation
was pioneered in Cornwall in 1994, and
has developed rapidly and broadly into a
major national programme that is nowmore than half complete. Its evolution is
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Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
Mapping
the progress
of EnglishHeritages HLC
programme at
April 2004, and
an extract from
the Cornwall
HLC map for
the BodruganArea (right).
Cornwall
County Council
2
Anciently Enclosed Land
Upland Coastal Ground
Coastal Rough Ground
Dunes
Recently Enclosed Land
Anciently Enclosed Land
Altered in 18th and 19th
Centuries
Anciently Enclosed Land
Altered in 20th Century
Navigable Rivers & Creeks
Steep Sided Valleys
Predominantly Industrial
Urban or Residential
Development
Ornamental
Recreation
Airfields and Military
Upland Woods
Reservoirs
Completed
Projects
Projects in
Progress
Planned to
start 2004/5
summarised in Part 1, and further detail
is available in the report of a recent
national review of the HLC method
(Aldred and Fairclough, 2002). For
present purposes it is sufficient to say
that HLC has defined new territory in
spatial historic analysis, in the scope of
the terms historic environment andheritage, and in the philosophy of how
the historic environment is managed.
HLC should also be considered as a
microcosm and an exemplar of a much
wider field of historic characterisation,
which is now being extended to cover
complex urban areas and expansive
conurbations such as the Governments
sustainable community Housing Growth
and Pathfinder Areas.
Since the English Heritage/local
government collaboration on HLC
began, all the principles of this
approach (and indeed those of the
Countryside Agencys programme of
Landscape Character Assessment) have
been endorsed by the European
Landscape Convention (ELC).
See http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/
EN/treaties/html/176.htm for a copy of
the ELC.
Published in October 2000, the
Convention rapidly won widespread
support; it came into force on 1 March
2004 in those countries that ratified it.
Like HLC, the ELC promotes landscape
as a primary aspect of the common
heritage, and one that requires
comprehensive understanding,
democratic participation and sustainable
management.In England, characterisation has partly
been a reaction to a changed perception
of the traditional designation system.
This had proved effective for fifty years
in the case of buildings and one
hundred years for monuments, but was
coming to be seen as ineffectual for the
wide historic landscape. HLC in
particular is concerned with questions of
how to protect and manage dynamic
rural landscapes. The drawing of red
lines around parts of the historic
landscape was seen to risk devaluing
the areas outside of the line; most
importantly, it was not clear what would
be achieved other than a flagging up of
interest, an objective that can be
reached more directly and clearly by
other methods. More than any other
part of the historic environment, the
landscape is characterised and enriched
by centuries of change and
modification. If we celebrate the resultof past changes, we must logically
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Introduction
YesterdaysWorld,
Tomorrows
Landscape -the report of
the 1992 - 94
project that
definedEnglish
Heritages
approach to
the historic
landscape.
3
accept further change, especially as so
many aspects of HLC depend on living,
shifting, ever-changing semi-natural
patterns. It is not simply that it is
impossible to fossilise the landscape-
more than that, it is undesirable.
A red line marking a designation in the
landscape cannot, for example, meanno further change of any sort; this
would be an unnecessary and
unattainable goal.
We want landscape to change so that it
continues to be cultural, as well as being
a dynamic inheritance for our
successors. The question, therefore, is
one of what scale and type of change is
most appropriate. Methods of deciding
this are needed that are based on
understanding time-depth in thelandscape and on appreciating an
areas sensitivity, vulnerability and
capacity for change in the context of
specific proposals. HLC was designed
to provide the first of these
requirements a better, broader
understanding as a prelude to
allowing the second practical
applications to be achieved.
HLC brought large-scale
characterisation into the heritage
management field, and shifted our
objectives from protecting separate sites
to managing change in all places. From
the very beginning it was recognisedthat a method was required that would
meet a wide range of uses, and would
be flexible enough to meet many
different demands. Yesterdays World,
Tomorrows Landscape identified a
range of applications for example
developing awareness of local identity,
academic understanding, designations
and planning policies, development
appraisal, management or grant
assessment (Fairclough et al, 1999,
56), just as English Heritage thinking onlandscape had earlier drawn attention to
Stewardship and Environmentally
Sensitive Areas (ESA), Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
management plans and Conservation
Area Appraisals, Development Plans
and development control as methods for
positive management (Fairclough et al,
1999, 19). These ideas were also
incorporated in 1994 into Planning
Policy Guidance note 15 Planning and
the Historic Environment (paragraphs2.26, 6.2, 6.40).
This book demonstrates how all of these
uses have been explored and new ones
identified as the HLC programme has
progressed. Some applications have
proved easier to carry out than others.
All require complex networks of
partnership and collaboration, which
cannot always be established rapidly.
Nevertheless, great progress was being
made by 2002. National HLC coveragewas approaching its halfway point, and
a handful of counties had demonstrated
3-4 years experience of applying HLC in
a variety of ways to support heritage
management. The HLC Method Review
was also being completed and it
became clear that a parallel overview of
current applications was also needed, to
take stock of the position we had
reached and to facilitate further
development. We had a lot of anecdotal
evidence, but a pulling together of all this
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Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
The urbanlandscape
of Liverpool,
whichis being
characterised
by the
MerseysideHLC Project
Liverpool
City Council
4
experience was a necessary next step,
in order to press home to many
audiences the value of HLC.
English Heritage thereforecommissioned the Archaeology Service
of Lancashire County Council (one of
the local government leaders in HLC
and its uses) to carry out a national
HLC Applications Review. The present
document is a high level summary of a
more detailed Technical Report. It
concentrates on a small number of
examples that demonstrate some of the
best practice currently identified, under
several major headings that represent
the main areas of HLC application,
such as:
Landscape Management
(e.g. Agri-Environmental Schemes)
Landscape Character Assessments
and Strategies
Spatial Planning and
Partnership, Learning and Outreach.
The book concludes by looking forward
in the light of this review to how HLC can
become even more useful in the future,
taking into account lessons learnt and
obstacles as yet unsurmounted.
Whilst this document is largelyconcerned with the character of the
rural historic landscape, its general
conclusions apply across the whole
emerging and developing field of
heritage characterisation. Some of the
most innovative work at present
concerns the post-industrial towns of
Cornwall and Lancashire, the great
conurbations such as Merseyside, and
the ambitious regeneration programmes
of the London-Stansted-Cambridge and
Thames Gateway Growth Areas. There
is exactly the same need in such areas
as there is in rural landscapes to
understand the general inherited
character of both landscape and
townscape. The general lessons learnt
by the review of how HLC is being used,
summarised in the final chapter, will
have wider applicability beyond the HLC
programme.
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Part 1Principles & Methods
Principles & Methods
Hampshire
HLC map Hampshire
County
Council
5
BackgroundThe Historic Landscape
Characterisation (HLC) programme
co-ordinated by English Heritage hasalways emphasised diversity of method
and flexibility. In part this is a
consequence of the differing capacities,
data sources and requirements of the
host organisations, who are united by
the need to better understand the
historic environment, some requiring
planning outputs whilst others are more
concerned with regeneration objectives.
However, it also reflected the early
experimental nature of the programme,
combined with the desire to test, extend
and develop new methodologies. As a
result there has been no single, national
approach to carrying out HLC surveys.Instead, there exists a core of concepts
and recognised methods, used
successfully by all practitioners, and a
suite of ancillary or peripheral methods
which reflect the range of differing
interests. The HLC Taking Stock of the
Method Report(Aldred & Fairclough,
2003) is recommended for those
wishing to understand the HLC method
in more detail, but this section will
provide a brief introduction.
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Guiding Principles for HLC
Present not past: it is the present-day landscape that is the main object of study
Landscape as history not geography: the most important characteristic of landscapeis its time-depth; change and earlier landscapes exist in the present landscape
Landscape not sites: HLC-based research and understanding are concerned with
area not point data
All aspects of the landscape, no matter how modern, are treated as part of
landscape character, not just special areas
Semi-natural and living features (woodland, land cover, hedges etc.) are as much a
part of landscape character as archaeological features; human landscape
bio-diversity is a cultural phenomenon
Characterisation of landscape is a matter ofinterpretation not record, perception
not facts; understand landscape as an idea, not purely as an objective thing
Peoples views: it is important to consider collective and public perceptions of
landscape alongside more expert viewsLandscape is and always has been dynamic: management of change, not
preservation is the aim
The process of characterisation should be transparent, with clearly articulated
records of data sources and methods used
HLC maps and text should be easy to understand, jargon free and easily
accessible to users
HLC results should be integrated into other environmenta
management records (e.g. SMRs or HERs)
l and heritage
Guiding principles
The principles behind historiccharacterisation are simple. They
concern mapping the historic dimension
of todays rural and urban landscapes,
and are about being comprehensive, not
selective (leaving no grey areas), and
viewing areas rather than individual
sites. HLC is concerned with the
commonplace and the locally distinctive
and, through identifying and analysing
time-depth, it expresses the dynamic
nature of towns and countryside.
There are usually two stages to the
characterisation process: a first in which
the landscape or townscape is
identified, mapped, described and
interpreted i.e. this is what we have
and a second in which judgements,
whether about value or more practical
priorities, are applied to this initial
assessment and objectives are agreed
i.e. this is what we wish to do with it.
This second stage lends itself directly to
a variety of land management and
conservation applications, which Part 2
will demonstrate.Mapping plays a central role in historic
characterisation, both in the process
of defining Character Types and Areas,
and in the presentation and
manipulation of the results. The use
of GIS, including digital historic maps,
ensures flexibility and has now reached
the stage where it is a requirement for
the successful delivery of HLC projects.
General approach
The aim of most HLC studies is tocharacterise the distinctive historic
dimension of todays urban and rural
environment within a given area.
Achieving this through the HLC process
is relatively straightforward.
It begins with the systematic
identification and description of many of
the historic attributes of the
contemporary rural and urban
landscape, using a number of common
sources.
Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
6
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Principles & Methods
7
Examples of HLC AttributesCurrent land use
Past land useField morphology (size, shape, group patterns)
Boundary types
Distribution and types of other resources (e.g. woodland, water, minerals)
Distribution and types of buildings
Placenames and earliest references
Settlement types and patterns
Communication types and patterns
Archaeological and historic sites recorded on the SMR Common Sources
Modern OS mapping (usually GIS-based)
Modern land use and thematic mapping (e.g. Phase 1 Habitat Survey)
Geological, soil, hydrological and topographical mapping
Comprehensive historic mapping (e.g. OS First Edition)Selected historic mapping (e.g. Enclosure Awards, Estate Maps and Tithe Maps)
Aerial photographs
Documentary sources (e.g. VCH, place name surveys)
SMR data (especially designations)
Other research
These attributes include aspects of the
natural and built environment that have
been shaped by human activity in the
past the distribution of woodland and
other semi-natural habitats, the form of
fields and their boundaries, the lines of
roads, streets and pathways, the
disposition of buildings in the towns,
villages and countryside.
Data gathering is followed by the
grouping of attributes into Historic
Landscape Character Types. The
underlying philosophy is that particular
patterns and groupings of landscape
attributes can be shown to be
determined by their similar land use
history. For example, in the LancashireHLC programme, an area possessing a
pattern of small irregular fields,
dissected by winding lanes and
footpaths, associated with known
medieval settlements, place and field
names, and shown to be in existence
prior to the earliest comprehensive map
evidence, will be allocated to the
Ancient Enclosure (i.e. pre AD1600)
HLC Type. Long thin regular
HLC Typical Phases
Data gathering on defined
attributes from selected sources
Grouping of attributes to makeHLC types (at a variety of levels)
Analysis of types to explore issues
such as:
Time-depth
Past landscape change and
land use
Chronology and process of
land enclosure
Present and future land use
(opportunities and threats)
Evaluation
Reporting & Archiving
Recommendations
APPLICATIONS
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Principles & Methods
9
definition of simple HLC Types. Aspects
that can be characterised in more detail
include time-depth and previous historic
landscape character. The presence of
medieval fields and settlement beneath
parkland may be recorded, for instance,
as may the extent of earlier woodland
that had later been reduced through
assarting and conversion to pasture.
Such flexibility allows a wide variety of
HLC analyses and map outputs, ranging
from illustrations of boundary loss or
change since the 19th century through
to interpretative reconstructions ofearlier land uses.
The HLC mapping process is focused
upon the historic components of the
present-day landscape. Its primary
objective is not, for example, to map the
former extent of medieval field systems
in a given area (although this may be
achieved indirectly), but instead to
illustrate where todays landscape is
broadly medieval in origin and in
surviving character. It is this emphasis
on the historic dimension of todays
landscape that gives HLC its strength as
a tool for managing change in the future.
Surrey HLC
main types
and local
extract
showing
sub-types
Surrey
County
Council.
OS licence
LA 076872
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Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
The publishedCornwall HLC
report, Herring,
1998
10
HLC productsThe main product of HLC is character
mapping, available in GIS format. In
addition to this, there are basic reports
on method, which include a description
of each Character Type or Zone and itsmain features. For some projects this
information is very detailed; in the case
of Cornwall, a particularly thorough
example, for each Character Zone there
are summary descriptions that outline
the following:
The defining, distinguishing
attributes, e.g. field shape, basic
topographical features or association
with settlement
The principal historical processes
that have led to the creation of the
landscape typeTypical historical and archaeological
components
Rarity
Survival
Evidence for time-depth
Potential for historical and
archaeological research
Typical values and perceptions
Forces for change
Recommendations
HLC projects produce extensive
information, which makes possible
complex interpretations to serve a
variety of uses. Many of these uses
were anticipated or planned at the
outset of the programme (Fairclough
et al, 1999, 56), whilst others have
been developed as the programme has
evolved, as the discussion of current
and emerging applications in thefollowing chapters will demonstrate.
However, for HLC to inform the greatest
possible number of applications,
information needs to be made
accessible to a wide audience in a user-
friendly format, and the various ways in
which this is being achieved are
discussed in Chapter 4.
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Part 2The Applications ofHistoric Landscape
Characterisation
The Applications of HLC
The historiclandscape
in the PeakDistrict
Peak District
National Park
11
Understanding the historic
landscapeHistoric Landscape Characterisation
(HLC) has a wide range of applicationsbecause it provides a comprehensive
overview of the historic landscape. It
promotes a framework, a background
understanding and a better informed
starting point from which to consider
issues and proposals. It provides
information, not judgements it does
not identify the best areas, but allows
appropriate decisions to be made in the
light of proposed change. HLC does not
seek to answer every question about the
historic landscape, but it focuses on one
highlight surviving time-depth, the
legibility and enjoyment of the past in
the present landscape. It explains
landscapes cultural, historic and
archaeological attributes and the
importance of change through time as a
primary characteristic.
HLC is not a stand-alone tool for
advising on the mitigation of planning
applications or agri-environment
schemes. To be effective it needs to be
used in conjunction with other datasets,
such as other parts of Sites and
Monument Records (SMRs), or Historic
Environment Records (HERs) as they
are increasingly known.
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HLC provides a context for existing data.
In the past the landscape as a whole
has been overlooked as attention hasbeen confined to specific monuments
and point data recorded in SMRs. HLC
demonstrates that the historic landscape
has importance as a whole the sum of
all its parts as well as being able to
show how individual sites fit into their
surroundings and the wider landscape.
HLC is a valuable method of raising
awareness of the historic dimension of
the landscape, and a successful means
of ensuring that its needs are taken into
account alongside those of the naturalenvironment when development
proposals are considered. However,
it is not concerned to preserve the
landscape unchanged, nor to return it to
some past point in its evolution. We are
not trying to protect the landscape of
the past, but to manage sustainably the
past, history and origins of the
landscape in the present i.e. thehistoric character of the current
landscape. The aim is not to determine
how the landscape of the past shall
stay, or how it should be maintained or
recreated. Instead HLC is about
identifying the traces of the past within
the modern landscape, and recognising
that essentially the landscape has its
present character because of the
changes it has undergone over the past
millennia. The challenge, therefore, is to
address how future change cansensitively respect local character and
diversity.
The following chapters will explore how
this information and understanding can
be used to inform a range of
applications:
Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
12
Chapter 1 Landscape Management the role of HLC in advising agri-environment
schemes and influencing the targeting of Countryside Stewardship Schemes and
Special Projects. How HLC is used by Historic Environment Countryside Advisors
(HECAS), and how it is influencing the Countryside Agencys Landscape ManagementInitiatives.
Chapter 2 Landscape Character Assessment and Strategies using HLC to define,
understand and describe Landscape Character Assessment types, and to inform
Landscape Strategies, at county and district level.
Chapter 3 Spatial Planning using HLC to inform new planning policy and SPG in
Development Plans, as well as to advise on planning applications and hedgerow
removal applications.
Chapter 4 Partnership, Learning and Outreach many projects and initiatives
outside of the originally anticipated applications have recognised the value of HLC tosupport other aspects of environmental management as well as to inform research in
both local authorities and universities; HLC information can be provided in a variety of
formats (reports, mapping, Internet and CD ROM), helping to raise awareness of the
historic landscape.
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Chapter 1LandscapeManagement
Landscape Management
Hedge laying
in the Forest of
Bowland
AONB
13
The holistic approach of Historic
Landscape Characterisation (HLC),
which recognises the importance of
character in all aspects of the
landscape, makes it particularly suited
to informing positive landscape
management. Where local authorities
provide HLC data on a regular basis to
landowners, estate managers, farmers,
or organisations such as English Nature,
FWAG, the National Trust and the
Wildlife Trust, all of whom have an
interest or a stake in the management of
the landscape, it is generally well
received and understood. In someinstances this information has helped to
foster good working relations with key
bodies; it helps to bond the interests of
the historic landscape with those of the
natural environment. It is therefore an
especially relevant tool for advising on
applications for agri-environment
schemes.
The applications covered in this chapter
include a variety of topics and
programmes. Examples of best practice
are provided for each of the following:
Agri-environment schemes
Historic Environment Countryside
Advisory Services (HECAS)
Stewardship targets and Special
Projects
Countryside Agency Landscape
Management Initiatives
Woodland grant schemes
Informing agri-environment
schemesAssessment of the likely impact of agri-environment schemes on the historicenvironment has typically been limited toa search of the Sites and MonumentsRecord (SMR), to check the effect uponknown archaeological sites. HLC hasencouraged a shift in perspective fromthe site specific to consideration of thelandscape as a whole, which is more
complementary to the requirements offarm management.
Beyond its use for management of the
historic environment, HLC is also a
valuable starting point for many other
types of assessment, as it presents a
background explanation of the
landscape and the processes of human
action that have shaped it over the
centuries. It allows responses to be less
negative and reactive and more positive
and proactive.
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Each of the attributes that define an
HLC Type (such as field patterns,
boundaries, woodland or archaeologicalsites) has particular conservation needs
and presents different opportunities.
By amalgamating these needs and
opportunities into a single list, HLC
encourages a process of stepping back
and viewing landscape as a whole.
This change in perspective, adding to
site specific information, is sympathetic
to current and likely future management
trends and may be used to produce
generic recommendations for individual
Character Types. These provide a
useful point of reference for land agentsand others involved in drawing up agri-
environment schemes and other land
management strategies. In some cases
these sustainable management issues
are included in HLC project reports.
For example, the Lancashire report
includes a section entitled Enhancing
and Safeguarding the Type, which
identifies management recommend-
ations for each Character Type.
Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
14
Extract from the Lancashire HLC Project Report (Ede with Darlington,
2002, 70) Enhancing and safeguarding the type moorland
Undertake survey. With few exceptions the moorland of Lancashire has never
undergone a systematic programme of research to identify its (historic) heritage
assets (archaeological sites, palaeo-environmental resource, built heritage and
historic landscape).
Conserve the distinctive high altitude field enclosures, buildings and communications
network. The network of walls, historic trackways and isolated agricultural buildings
is a distinctive feature of the moorland landscape, providing time-depth and intra-
county historical variation priority should be given to those features according to
their period, rarity, documentation, group value, survival/condition,fragility/vulnerability, diversity and potential. Where stabilisation or restoration is not
feasible the base courses and foundation stones of enclosure walls and buildings
should be maintained as evidence of former activity.
Conserve the evidence for relic occupation and land use. Moorland contains the
best-preserved earthwork evidence for prehistoric settlement, ritual use and land
management in the county. It also includes vaccary and forest features and industrial
landscapes, which are distinctive to Lancashire. Priority will be given to the
preservation of these characteristic attributes of moorland landscape.
Improve management. Improve the management regime (and advice to it) to
minimise the threat of overgrazing and erosion, and damage through the growth of
bracken or furze, reversion and scrubbing up. Positive management should be
encouraged, potentially with the aid of agri-environmental schemes. Maintenance ofthin peat soils, and hence the archaeological remains within them, may be promoted
through rotational heather burning. Bracken should be controlled by spraying as
opposed to mechanical means that may damage the archaeological resource. Stone
clearance and the use of cairns and buildings as sources of building material must
be avoided.
Avoid damage to the historic environment through mineral exploitation, tree planting
and agricultural improvement. Full archaeological assessment prior to decision-
making should be carried out where appropriate.
Enhance interpretation. The role of humans in the creation and management of
moorland is not well appreciated. Opportunities for increased and improved
interpretation, and the appropriate extension of access, should be taken whilst at the
same time deflecting visitors from sensitive historic attributes.
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The Type specific sections in the
Lancashire HLC report contain a great
deal of relevant information thatbecomes useful when a scheme is
being put together. The example on the
previous page outlines the features that
are likely to be encountered and how
they are best managed, and makes a
clear statement about the need for
assessment prior to schemes such as
tree planting. Under improve
management it highlights the need for
positive management, and lists some of
the preferred means of achieving this.
HLC therefore provides a sound basis
for considering the location and scope of
agri-environment schemes. It identifies
general issues that need to be looked atin detail and interpreted alongside
historic maps and specific SMR
information about the proposed area.
An example from Herefordshire
demonstrates how HLC is being used to
inform a Countryside Stewardship
Scheme. In this case the area
earmarked for inclusion was identified
by the HLC as having modern character,
which influenced the recommendations
that were made.
Landscape Management
Extract from the
Herefordshire
HLC for the
Wigmore area andphotograph of the
same area; the
modern large
fields (grey on
map) are in the
foreground
HerefordshireCouncil
OS licence
LA 09069L
15
Countryside Stewardship, Wigmore, HerefordshireIn 2002 an application was made for a Countryside Stewardship Scheme near
Wigmore, Herefordshire, for an area of large fields that had been created over the past
few decades as farming techniques had intensified and necessitated the removal of
boundaries. The HLC showed that this area had a character quite distinct from the
surrounding landscape, which comprised either the enclosure of former common
arable fields associated with medieval settlement at Wigmore, or the later redefinition
of the landscape by the drainage and enclosure of the moor. Recognising that the
more recent modification of the landscape was an historical process in its own right it
was advised that, rather than reconstructing lost boundaries, the large fields should be
subdivided in a way that reflected current farming practice (such as cropping regimes,or the addressing of concerns about soil movement), thus accepting Countryside
Stewardship schemes as a recognisable cause of change in the modern landscape.
Modern degraded land
Enclosure of common arable fields
Woodland
Redefinition of former common
arable fields
Adaption of the enclosure of
former common arable fields
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Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
Historic fieldboundaries
form an
integral partof the
character
of the
landscapeof the
Peak District
National Park
PDNP
16
Lancashire County Council has taken
the provision of HLC information a step
further by providing a copy of the HLC
to the DEFRA Rural Development
Service team in the North West region,
who are piloting the use of an HLC
database in processing agri-
environment schemes. HLC information
is available when schemes are being
drawn up, and is not just provided in
response to individual proposals when
they have already been formulated. It is
proving to be a useful source ofbackground information, and a more
user-friendly version is in development
that will directly link the HLC GIS
mapping with text boxes describing the
archaeological potential and
management issues for each type.
Farm Advisors in the Peak District
National Park make regular use of HLC
data. The Advisors receive regular
training from the National Parks
archaeologists, who provide them with
interpreted HLC and SMR information.
The National Park also provides its own
financial incentives for protecting the
historic landscape, offered
independently of DEFRAs Countryside
Stewardship. The following is anexample of the information supplied by
a National Park archaeologist for a Farm
Advisor, and illustrates the value of HLC
in informing such schemes:
Historic walling grant, the Peak District National Park
An extract from advice provided for the renewal of an historic walling grant for a
holding in the White Peak:
The Historic Landscape Characterisation classifies this holding as part of a much more
extensive area of Ancient Enclosure with the medieval strip system of cultivation
fossilised by later walls. The gradual loss of field boundaries from this type of
landscape in the Peak District means that such fossilised strip field systems that
remain intact are becoming rarer and are particularly worthy of preservation. The
fields of this holding form an integral part of this important White Peak Landscape.
The HECAS initiativeEnglish Heritage provides funding for
a number of local authorities to support
Historic Environment Countryside
Advisory Services (HECAS), whose work
includes developing models of best
practice for managing historic landscapes.
A large proportion of this work is
concerned with advising agri-environment
schemes and raising awareness of the
historic environment in rural issues. HLC
information is readily available to the
HECAS Officer in Cornwall and Somerset,
for example, where it is used on a daily
basis to check schemes and to make
informed recommendations.
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Landscape Management
17
Bodrugan
Farm,Mevagissey
Cornwall
County
Council
Cornwall County Council has extensive
experience of using HLC to advise
agri-environment schemes. Here theHECAS Officer has devised a series of
pro-forma paragraphs that relate to
individual HLC landscape types, which
are reiterated in each response before
more detailed information relating to the
specific area is added. This allows the
DEFRA case officer to place the farm,
its components and the proposedscheme in their historic environment
context, and enables HECAS to suggest
works that will enhance historic
landscape character.
Countryside Advice in Cornwall using HLCGeneric definitions of HLC Types can be enhanced by additional professional
interpretation and evidence from other sources. This can provide a consistent and
contextualised starting point for advising on stewardship and similar proposals. The
definition below is an example of this:
Anciently Enclosed Land (AEL) little altered and as such of high landscape value.
This is defined as having irregular field patterns with medieval or prehistoric origins.
Many blocks of AEL have the remnants of medieval strip fields, either the enclosed
strips themselves or the enclosed cropping units which contained these strips.
Winding lanes connect farming settlements that are documented before the 17th
century and were usually originally small hamlets. The land tends to be relatively
sheltered but can extend onto high downs.
Bodrugan Farm, Mevagissey, CornwallBodrugan, a great medieval estate with a fortified house, chapel and deer park, lies in
a particular form of Anciently Enclosed Land that is associated with barton farms (a
term used for the home farm of the lord of the manor). In fact it is one of Cornwallsbest-defined barton systems, with fields much larger and more rectilinear than those
found with hamlets. However, the applicants wished to subdivide one large field with a
new hedge, which would have effectively altered the character of the farm. The
HECAS officer persuaded FWAG (the applicants agent) and DEFRA to alter the
boundary to a fence instead, which as a less visually intrusive boundary enabled the
large-field character of Bodrugan to be maintained.
The HECAS Officer was therefore able to prevent the character of this area from being
eroded while still supporting the agricultural and ecological needs of the scheme.
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Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
The open strip
fields of the
Isle of
Axholme,North
Lincolnshire
Keith Miller
18
Stewardship targeting and
special projects
HLC can be used to identify targets for
Countryside Stewardship (or in future the
proposed Higher Tier scheme).
It has become an essential tool for
informing and guiding agri-environment
strategies at all levels from the local to
the regional. It is often able to resolve
issues such as hedgerow recreation
because of its fine grain historical detail.At the regional level it has directly
influenced selection of stewardship
targets and conservation strategies for
various landscape types. In Cornwall and
West Devon, Recently Enclosed Land
established by miners on former rough
ground is being suggested as one target,
because of its specific historic origins and
particular significance for local history
and identity. In Axholme (North
Lincolnshire), HLC has already been used
to inform the targeting of Countryside
Stewardship Schemes.
Stewardship targeting and special projects AxholmeThe Axholme project was undertaken to test and develop the Cornwall HLC method
at a fine grain resolution within a Countryside Character Area (the Humberhead
Levels). It was intended to contribute towards land management, partly addressing
the need for better informed conservation identified at regional Countryside
Stewardship Schemes targeting meetings.
The 1997 Countryside Commissions Target Proposals for the Humberhead Levels
(Character Area 39) stated key objectives as being to restore and conserve:
- the nationally important open strip field system on the Isle of Axholme
- the unique cable systems (strip allotments) of the Thorne area
(both of which had been mapped and identified by HLC).
Because of the specific characteristics of the open strip field areas a Stewardship
Special Project was recommended as an option for conservation management, and
further studies were undertaken on condition, vulnerability and management of HLC
components. These studies, together with a detailed review of farm economics, have
resulted in a Special Project launched by DEFRA in 2003, which should ultimately
benefit not only the open strip fields of Axholme but also the other rare survivals of
openfield landscapes in England.
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Landscape Management
19
Landscape Management InitiativesThe Countryside Agency has run a series
of Land Management Initiatives (LMIs)across England to investigate how farming
and land management can respond to
changing demands on agriculture in a
positive and sustainable way. There have
been nine LMI projects, which have looked
at a cross section of the landscape
arable land, lowland pastoral, upland andthe urban fringe. Two of these have been
informed by HLC the Severn Vyrnwy
area in Shropshire and the Humberhead
Levels in North Lincolnshire.
Severn Vyrnwy, ShropshireThis is a lowland pastoral area characterised by
intensive dairy farming and dispersed farms, located
on the floodplain of the Severn and Vyrnwy Rivers.
The Shropshire HLC, although in its early stages
at the time, was able to contribute usefully to theSevern Vyrnwy Land Management Initiative. The work
included an appraisal of HLC and its use for directing
Countryside Stewardship towards aspects of the
historic environment. It identified a number of HLC
types particularly appropriate for targeting stewardship
schemes (e.g. wetlands and piecemeal enclosure), as
well as considering issues of landscape management
that could be used to inform this.
Humberhead Levels, North LincolnshireThe Humberhead Levels LMI, known locally as Value
in Wetness, is the national pilot for sustainable use of
wetlands. The Axholme HLC is used alongside other
data on soil types, drainage, water level management,
archaeology and farm business. Outputs drawing
specifically on HLC include publication of environmental
guidelines for farmers and land managers, and proposals
for a project officer to work with sustainable farming
initiatives on pilot farms and agri-environment schemes in
the wetlands. Specific targets for improved management
cover landscape types highlighted in the HLC as
especially significant and vulnerable, notably the Axholme
openfields and the moorland allotments (or cables long,
narrow landholdings produced by colonisation of the
lowland peat moors), which were identified for the first time by the HLC.
Woodland grant schemesHLC is used to advise Woodland Grant
Schemes, administered by the Forestry
Commission. There are well established
woodland patterns in most counties, and
the description of HLC types will clearly
indicate whether planting is typical for that
area or not. For example, upland moor is
characterised as being an open treeless
expanse; proposals to plant large blocksof woodland in such areas are therefore
contrary to landscape character not
necessarily a reason not to proceed with
planting, but an influential factor in the
decision process of whether to plant and
if so how. Where woodland is proposed,
HLC can be used to inform the location,
extent and shape of planting. Further
direction may be provided for those
locations where HLC illustrates the
presence of former woodland, throughidentifying areas of assarts.
The
Humberhead
Levels LandManagement
Initiative
The
Countryside
Agency
The Severn-
Vyrnwy Land
Management
Initiative The
Countryside
Agency
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Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
20
Tree planting near Clitheroe, LancashireA planting scheme was proposed for an area just outside Clitheroe identified on the
HLC as Ancient Enclosure. This comprised former common arable open fields thathad been enclosed in the late medieval period and retained extensive remains of a
strip field system. The proposal to plant a block of trees across some of the strips
was unsympathetic to the character of the historic landscape. Recognising that a
main aim of the planting was to provide a screen from the dual carriageway running
through the area, it was agreed that planting was necessary, but the scheme was
modified. Trees were planted in a pattern sympathetic to the grain of the landscape
and not against it. Planting that followed the strips and accentuated their character
rather than running at right angles to the field pattern was encouraged.
This is a small example but is enough to show the importance of local character
in informing such initiatives.
HLC is also proving to be very useful to boundary related projects:
Forest of Bowland Boundary Survey, LancashireWithin the Forest of Bowland AONB, a pilot project has assessed the condition of
boundaries visible from public rights of way across a number of parishes, and HLC
has been used alongside other data to provide criteria for assessing their importance.
For example, the project has identified repair of the boundaries of an expanse of
Ancient Enclosure as a priority for the parish of Slaidburn. The character of this part
of the parish, which is defined by small irregular fields bounded by hedgerows, is very
distinctive when compared with the surrounding landscape, which is dominated by
regular fields outlined by stone walls that belong to a later phase of enclosure and land
reorganisation. However, many of the hedgerows have grown out and fencing is
increasingly replacing them as a boundary type.
The original
design of a
proposed
WoodlandGrant Scheme
near Clitheroe
(left) andthe amended
design
following
HLC
consultation
(right)
LancashireCounty
Council.
OS licence
100023320
The poor
condition of
hedges in
Slaidburn,Lancashire
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(The Hampshire Landscape
A Strategy For the Future, 2000)
Chapter 2Landscape CharacterAssessment and
Strategies
Landscape Character Assessment and Strategies
TheHampshire
landscape,
from The
Hampshire
Landscape -
A Strategy for
the Future,
2000 Hampshire
County
Council
21
An important stimulus for local
authorities to carry out Historic
Landscape Characterisation (HLC)
has been the contribution it can make
to the preparation of county, district
or AONB-wide Landscape Character
Assessments (LCAs), and the
supplementary detail it can provide to
inform their implementation
(Countryside Agency and
Scottish Natural
Heritage, 2002; Topic
Paper 5: Understanding
Historic Landscape
Character, 2003).
LCA, like its historically
informed cousin, is also
increasingly being recognised and
used as a tool for managing landscape
change:
It seeks to engage and guide all those
who can influence management and
change in the landscape. It informs and
provides a framework for all agencies
which are producing management plans
and strategies. Ultimately it guides
environmental action on the ground
...The Hampshire Strategy will be
implemented through policy guidance in
local plans and land management
strategies, for topics as wide ranging as
diversification of the economy; transport
and communication links; and the siting
of structures like telecommunicationsmasts.
LCAs are far-reaching documents,
meant to have an holistic approach to
landscape, but sometimes the historic
depth and importance can be under-
represented. The historic environment
needs to be well and intelligently
combined with LCAs, and integrating
information from an HLC has proven to
be the most successful way of doing
this. The HLC work undertaken in
Cornwall and Lancashire was planned in
parallel with LCA, whilst the justification
for HLC in Bath and North East
Somerset, Gloucestershire and
Hertfordshire rested upon the need for
such information to underpin a future
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LCA. Also, counties like Dorset andSussex were spurred on to commence
HLC because of the need to produce
AONB and proto-National Park plans
that do not take an approach to
Landscape Character based only on
aesthetics.
HLC-aided definition of LCA Types
and AreasOne of the principal uses of HLC in
Landscape Character Assessment has
been to help define Landscape CharacterTypes and Areas. During the process of
producing an LCA, field-workers will use
a number of sources to define landscape
character by its geology, landform, soils,
vegetation, woodlands and current land
use, as well as looking at historical data.
This desk-based work is followed by
validation in the field and assessment of
aesthetic and perceptual aspects of
character. The subsequent classification
and description of Landscape Types and
Areas will result in a single landscapetype, defined as having broadly similar
patterns of geology, landform, soils,
landuse, settlement and field pattern in
every area where it occurs.
HLC supports this process by providing
the historic dimension to many of the
patterns, for example, the human
contribution to present-day soil or
woodland cover but it will also be one
of the principal studies in defining the
latter categories of land use, settlement
and field pattern. The greater the human
contribution, the more prominent thedetail contributed by HLC. HLC provides
an overview of the historic dimension of
the landscape. This broad character
based approach links directly with LCA.
When inspected on the ground, patterns
of the historic landscape are much
harder to identify without HLC, where
topography and individual features may
distract the viewer from the bigger
picture. The wider and more vertical
view of HLC is needed.
An example of how HLC can be used
to aid the definition of landscape
Character Types and Areas can be taken
from Lancashire, where the urban areas
were adopted wholesale from the HLC
work, making HLC and LCA types one
and the same. In other areas historic
patterns of land reclamation identified in
the HLC have been sufficiently strong to
form the core of LCA types, or have
contributed to their subdivision into
unique areas. HLC can also be usedduring the consultation and review of
suggested LCA divisions of types, acting
as a prompt to correct and realign.
HLC-aided understanding of LCA
Types and AreasHLC provides information at a number
of different levels to help those carrying
out LCA to understand the historical
processes which have led to the current
landscape. One example of this comes
from the Cornwall HLC:
Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
Urban areasidentified by
the Lancashire
HLC (red)which are also
used in the
Landscape
CharacterAssessment
Lancashire
County
Council.
OS licence
100023320
22
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Time-depth matrices, CornwallThe Cornwall HLC the first county-wide HLC was carried out as part of the 1994
Cornwall Landscape Assessment, published in 1996 by Landscape Design Associatesand Cornwall Archaeological Unit. In addition to the summary descriptions of each
HLC Zone (CAU, 1998, 56) time-depth matrices are provided, which show periods
against one axis and key historic landscape features on the other. This, combined with
the use of symbols to differentiate between visible, subsurface and documentary
evidence, allows a snapshot of the range of typical historic landscape components one
might expect to see when exploring the Zone. These matrices have a range of uses,
but in the case of LCA they serve to alert the fieldworker to visible and dominant
historic elements in the countryside.
HLC-aided descriptionof LCA Types and AreasHLC can be especially valuable when it is
used to enrich the written descriptions of
the Landscape Character Assessment.
An example is given below from Cornwall.
A further area of value for HLC contribut-
ing to Landscape Character Assessmentalso lies in the deep cultural appreciation
of semi-natural elements of landscape
that HLC provides. It also offers a clearer
and more detailed understanding of how
human action has shaped the environ-
ment, as the Lancashire example shows.
The Cornwall Landscape Character AssessmentWithout the input of the HLC work in Cornwall, the LCA for the Culm Plateau area of
the county might have read as follows:
small to medium scale field pattern with some areas of larger fields.Land is sparsely populated, with scattered isolated farmsteads.
In contrast, the additional understanding of the areas evolution brought about by the
HLC results in a much more comprehensive and helpful description:
small to medium scale field pattern comprising mostly Anciently Enclosed Land,
although a large number of these fields have been amalgamated to form larger units in
the 20th century. There are some pockets of Recently Enclosed Land, which indicate
the loss of rough ground or wetland areas. This area is sparsely populated, with
scattered isolated farmsteads. Buildings generally consist of small symmetrical
cottages with sash windows, typical of around 1840 when areas of this landscape
were enclosed or earlier boundaries altered.
Landscape Character Assessment and Strategies
A time-depth
matrix from
the CornwallHLC Report
(left) and the
Cornwall
LandscapeCharacter
Assessment,
1994 (right)
Cornwall
County
Council
23
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The Lancashire Landscape Character AssessmentThe Lancashire HLC was carried out before the Landscape Character Assessment and it
therefore became one of LCAs primary sources, making a significant difference to theAssessment. The treatment of moorland landscapes is one example but similar examples
can be found in other semi-natural types such as saltmarsh, sand dunes and water bodies.
The perception that Upland Moor does not have a historic or human dimension was clear
in an early LCA for Lancashire (1993), where the only reference to human influence was
the statement that settlement is restricted to isolated stone-built barns and farms in the
vernacular style with stone flag or slate roofs. The remainder of the description concerns
non-historic aspects such as geology and landform, and biodiversity, including references
to red grouse, hen harriers and merlins.
In contrast, the recent LCA (2000), which took account of the HLC, contains a whole
section on human influences when describing the same area. This provides detail on the
contribution of prehistoric peoples to the decline in tree cover and development of blanketpeat (and hence the appearance of todays landscape), on the Anglo-Scandinavian place
names and settlement of the area, its subdivision into Royal Forest, its medieval vaccaries,
the processes in post-medieval improvement and encroachment, and later 19th century
settlement desertion.
HLC-informed landscape strategies
A detailed appreciation and
understanding of landscape change
promoted through HLC lends itself to a
more specific and targeted contribution
in the Making Judgements stage of aLandscape Character Assessment the
point at which strategy is formulated.
An appreciation of past change in the
landscape and the forces for change
today can provide an insight into the
potential impact and direction of future
change and measures of vulnerability.
For example, the Cornwall summary
paragraphs
Recommendations for Safeguarding
the Zone;Potential for historical/archaeological
research;
Potential for amenity and education;
Vulnerability of components and
Forces for Change
for each HLC Zone can be easily added
to the Landscape Guidelines of the
LCA. The landscape assessment also
included policies and strategies derived
from the HLC itself.
Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
A Landscape
Strategy for
Lancashire,
2000
Lancashire
County
Council
24
LandscapeCharacter Assessment
EnvironmentDi rectorate
Landscape StrategyEnvironmentDirectorate
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The Lancashire LCA StrategyIn Lancashire the use of HLC has led to frequent reference to the historic dimension of
landscape character and its component parts, throughout the LCA Strategy. Forexample, within the Enclosed Uplands Type the strategy identifies the following
relevant Key Environmental Features:
A high, exposed, undulating open plateau with a distinctive pattern of enclosure;
Network of gritstone walls and historic tracks reinforces the landscape pattern and
provides evidence of the extent of upland 18th and 19th century enclosure;
Blanket bog crowns the high summits providing landscape diversity, biodiversity and
an important archaeological resource;
Abandoned coal mines with day holes and bell pits reflect the areas land use
history and industrial legacy;
Quarries contribute to the character of the landscape and its hummocky, unevenlandform;
Distinctive pattern of settlement at high altitude, including clusters of dwellings and
short urban terraces which reflect the areas industrial past as miner-farmer
smallholdings and squatter settlements.
These are related to Local Forces for Change and their Landscape Implications, for
example:
Abandonment or amalgamation of agricultural holdings due to economic
pressures in the agricultural sectorthere is a risk that the characteristic stone walls,
upland farm buildings and historic upland enclosures will continue to become degraded
and derelict.
The above feeds into the recommendations of the Landscape Strategy:
Strategy Recommendations
Conserve the distinctive Consider management options for abandoned
high altitude field enclosures agricultural landholdings.
Repair upland enclosures and stone walls giving
priority to those walls which arehistorically
important.
Conserve the base course and foundation of stone
walls in areas where agricultural land has been
abandoned as evidence of historic moorlandenclosures.
Landscape Character Assessment and Strategies
25
LCA and HLC at district scaleBoth Landscape Character Assessment
and HLC can be carried out at different
scales. In Hampshire, for example, the
Landscape Strategy (2000) was
informed by the county level HLC as a
broad scale initiative, dividing
Hampshire into eleven landscape units,
but it was intended that each of the
districts within the county would use this
as the starting point for more detailed
local LCA. This process is now
completed, the report for the New Forest
District being the last to be published.
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Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
Heathland
grazing in the
New Forest
Charles
Maunder
26
New Forest District Landscape Character Assessment, 2001In the New Forest District, a Historic Landscape Assessment was undertaken at the
same time as a Landscape Character Assessment. The objective of the former was todevelop and refine the existing Hampshire HLC to suit the more detailed district level
requirements, and to provide Historic Landscape Types that could inform the analysis
of landscape types and character areas in the New Forest LCA.
HLC has proved to be a useful tool for
integration into LCA. Not only does it
ensure that the historic and cultural
aspects of the landscape are included
in the LCA, but in some authorities HLC
has contributed to the shaping of
Structure Plan Policy and
Supplementary Planning Guidance.
Lancashire provides an illustration of
this process from HLC to LCA to
Landscape Strategy to Structure Plan
Policy and SPG. This will be explored
further in the following chapter, which
looks specifically at the influence that
HLC has had upon development plans.
Landscape Assessment Historic Landscape Assessment
Landscape Strategy
Supplementary Report
Structure Plan Policy
Supplementary Planning Guidance
A flow
diagram
showing the
links between
the landscapeassessment
and the
historic
landscape
assessment,
strategy and
policy ofLancashire
CountyCouncil
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Chapter 3Spatial Planning
Spatial Planning
The Historic
Landscape inEast Cheshire
CheshireCounty
Council
27
The role of archaeology in the planning
process was firmly established in 1990
by Planning Policy Guidance note 16:
Archaeology and Planning. This clearly
stated that archaeological remains are
an important resource but are often
highly vulnerable to damage and
destruction. It outlined the importance
of development plan policy to balance
the need for development with the
interests of conservation, including
archaeology. The effect of development
on archaeology has since been
controlled and mitigated through the
planning process, supported by
sympathetic development plan policies.Many plan policies, however, focus only
on individual sites and monuments.
Historic Landscape Characterisation
(HLC) shows the need for broader
historic landscape-based policies as
well.
Development plansIn most cases, HLC projects consist of
two broad phases an assessment
(providing a description of the historic
landscape and its distinctive Character
Types) and a strategy (where
recommendations for the conservation
and sustainable management of each
Type are outlined). In spatial planning
neither is sufficient without further
development assessment is policy
neutral, providing descriptive information
and aiding understanding, while the
strategy is wholly concerned with
general management objectives, most of
which will fall outside the development
control system. For spatial planning
purposes, therefore, HLC needs to be
taken one step further, in conjunction
with a broadening of the debate to
include planners and others responsiblefor landscape management as well as
archaeologists, so that it can more fully
inform development plans and planning
policy.
Despite the long time-scales involved in
preparation and review, there are
already several examples of how HLC is
beginning to have an impact upon
development plans, both as policy and
as supplementary planning guidance
(SPG). This chapter summarises these
using examples chosen from the
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existing planning system. Terminology
and approach will need to be modified
to suit the new plan framework, but PPS1s emphasis on spatial planning is
supportive of this approach. More and
more often, the LCA process is leading
to the development of broad landscape-
based policies. Where HLC has
informed this process, it too is being
recognised within planning policy. A
good example of this is the LancashireHLC, which contributed to the county
Landscape Assessment and Strategy
and was ultimately used to inform both
new Structure Plan policy and SPG:
In Hampshire, the Landscape Strategy (2000), which
was heavily influenced by HLC, has been adopted as
Supplementary Planning Guidance and a policy on
landscape character has been included in the Structure
Plan. The Landscape Character Assessments of the
Hampshire Districts, which integrated information from
the County HLC and where appropriate carried out their
own local level HLC, have also been adopted as SPG.
Other examples of Landscape
Assessments in which HLC has shaped
policy and SPG are the Isle of Axholmeand Cornwall. There is also a rare
instance of HLC being cited in policy as
a standalone document, from
Herefordshire Unitary Authority.
Policy E6: To ensure that development maintains and enhances areas of distinctive
Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
Joint
Lancashire
Structure Plan
2001-2016
(DepositEdition)
(top) andLancashire
Landscape
and Heritage
Supplementary
PlanningGuidance
(bottom)
Lancashire
County
Council
28
Lancashire Joint Structure Plan 2001-2016
(Deposit Edition July 2002)
Policy 20: Lancashires Landscapes:Development must be appropriate to the landscape
character type within which it is situated and contribute to
its conservation, enhancement or restoration, or the
creation of appropriate new features. Proposals will be
assessed in relation to:
Local distinctiveness
The condition of the landscape
Visual intrusion
Layout and scale of buildings and designed spaces
Quality and character of the built fabric
Public access and community value of the landscape
Historic patterns and attributes of the landscape
Landscape biodiversity and ecological networks
Semi-natural habitats characteristic of thelandscape type
Remoteness and tranquillity
Noise and light pollution
Hampshire County Structure Plan 1996-2011 (Review), 2000
landscape character, local planning polices will pay particular regard to:
the need to respect scenic quality, sense of remoteness and historic landscapes;
the sense of place, including the local character of buildings and settlements;
and
the setting of settlements.
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Spatial Planning
Draft Hereford Unitary Development Plan (2002)
LA2: Landscape Character And Areas Least
Resistant To Change:Proposals for new development that would adversely
affect either the overall character of the landscape, as
defined by the landscape character assessment and the
historic landscape characterisation, or its key attributes or
features, will not be permitted.
DraftHerefordshire
Unitary
DevelopmentPlan, 2002
Herefordshire
Council
HLC
enhancementfor
Hertfordshires
Mineral Local
Plan
Hertfordshire
County Council
29
HLC is also beginning to be used to guide and mitigate
the impact of minerals and waste policies upon the
historic landscape. For example, in Cornwall low-level
characterisation has been used in conjunction with the
China Clay Tipping Strategy, which is a form of SPGto the Minerals Plan. Characterisation has also been
used to inform the Hertfordshire Minerals Plan:
Hertfordshire Mineral Local PlanThe Hertfordshire HLC has been enhanced for the areas
proposed for mineral extraction in the Mineral Local Plan,
which is currently at public deposit stage and Public
Inquiry stage. This work has been funded under the
Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund. The enhancement
has consisted of creating additional GIS layers showing
19th century and earlier map evidence for historic
boundaries and buildings. These are now in the processof being field tested to see what survives, after which
historic environment assessments for the proposed
extraction areas will be produced for the Public Inquiry.
Special areasA number of local authorities have used
HLC to inform reviews of existing
landscape area designations, such as
Mature Landscape Areas in
Nottinghamshire, which are areas that
have strong landscape character andremain relatively unchanged over time
when compared with the wider
landscape. MLAs are protected by
Structure Plan policy and are normally
defined within the relevant local plan.
Some authorities have used HLC to
assess the location and extent of new
designations. For example, in the North
Lincolnshire Unitary Development Plan,
2003, the national importance of the
Axholme landscape as identified in theHLC led to the designation of part of the
area as an Area of Special Historic
Landscape Interest (ASHLI), supported
by Policy LC14.
North Lincolnshire Unitary Development Plan 2003
LC14: Area of Special Historic Landscape Interest:The Isle of Axholme is designated as an area of Special Historic Landscape Interest.
Within this area, development would not be permitted that would destroy, damage or
adversely affect the character, appearance or setting of the historic landscape, or any
of its features.
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Other strategic documentsHLC is a flexible tool, and its
contribution has been recognised in avariety of advisory documents. For
example, the Axholme Countryside
Design Summary (1999), adopted as
SPG, states that if development falls
within the Trent Levels/Isle of Axholme
area, the Axholme HLC should beconsulted. The Surrey Design Guide
also makes reference to the county
HLC.
Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
Surrey Design
Guide, 2002
Surrey
County
Council
Avebury World
Heritage SiteManagement
Plan, 1998
English
Heritage
30
Surrey Design, A Strategic Guide For Quality
Built Environments, 2002The purpose of this document is to promote the high
quality design of new development in Surrey. It aims
to supplement national and regional planning policy
guidance, and to guide the implementation of the Surrey
Structure Plan. Having recognised the value of
understanding how the landscape has been shaped inthe past in order to make informed decisions about how
it can be managed in the future, it refers to the Surrey
Historic Landscape Characterisation Project as county
wide information on a GIS base that provides a valuable
insight into how landscape types have developed.
Management plansA significant number of Areas of
Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs),
National Parks and World Heritage Sitesare beginning to recognise HLC as a
useful source of information about the
historic landscape. Their primary
interest is in balancing an existing
traditional historical narrative and site-
specific approach and in filling the
human and cultural landscape gap that
exists in most management plans.
For example, the historic environment
section of the Forest of Bowland AONB
management plan has been based on
the Lancashire HLC, which has ensuredthat attention is paid to the whole
landscape and not just to specific sites
of archaeological interest.
As more and more HLC projects are
completed across the country in areas
that overlap with AONBs, National Parks
and World Heritage Sites, its use in this
field is likely to increase dramatically.
Avebury World Heritage Site Management Plan, 1998
Although this document was prepared without the benefitof an English Heritage county HLC, it demonstrates the
principles of using archaeological and historic criteria
(tailored mainly towards prehistory) alongside those of
land cover and settlement. Eighteen landscape units were
identified in a landscape assessment covering an area
measuring 35km square. For each there is an explanation
of Landform, Landcover and Visual Character,
and a Summary of Management Objectives.
For example, the Avebury-Silbury Valley unit (C3) includes
the following objective: improve hedge structure in the
valley bottom and encourage reinstatement of flood
meadows.
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Spatial Planning
Avebury
Jenny Nord
The extensive
urban survey
character
mappingfor Burnley,
nested in the
context of the
Lancashire
HLC Lancashire
County
Council.OS licence
100023320
31
Development controlIn many local authorities, HLC mapping
is routinely checked alongside the Sites
and Monuments Record database
(SMR) for responding to planning
applications and enquires about thehistoric environment. For this work, HLC
fills in the gaps that exist between the
point data of the SMR, as well as
providing a landscape context from
which to appreciate site-specific
information.
Numerous examples have demonstrated
the usefulness of HLC as a tool that can
inform planning decisions, in particular
for schemes that are large scale and
rural in nature such as new housingestates, roads and pipelines. However,
HLC has also begun to look at urban
character and the built environment, and
in the next few years it will become
increasingly relevant for the assessment
of planning proposals in towns and
cities: in Cornwall, Lancashire and
Merseyside, such work is currently
being undertaken.
Assessing the impact of
development upon the landscapeHLC is used to gauge the likely impact
that development will have upon the
landscape, by assessing whether
proposals are in keeping with the
historic character of the area and
whether they have an impact on any of
the key cultural attributes. Such
information can be used to make an
appropriate response to a planning
application, whether in support,recommending refusal, or suggesting
that it is amended to take into account
the needs of the historic landscape.
A few examples are set out below.
AgriculturalBye-law terraced housingC19 municipal cemeteryC20 hospitalC20 industrial/commercialC20 place of worshipC20 publicC20 recreationalC20 school or collegeC20 transportCanal
Church and churchyardCivic CentreCommercial centreHandloom weavers settlementIndividual housing (1918 to 2003)Industrial workers settlementInter and immediate post-war housing (1918 to c 1950)Late C20 housing (c 1970 to 2003)Late post-war housing (c 1950 to c 1970)Middle-class housing (c1860-1914)NaturalNon-textile industryOpen groundPlantationPost-medieval urban developmentPre-1850 row housesPre-NHS hospitalPublic landscape groundsRailwayRecreation groundRural settlementTextile industryUtilitiesVilla development
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Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
Epworth
(Isle of
Axholme) Keith Miller
32
Monnow Court, HerefordshireIn this case, HLC was used alongside other sources to demonstrate the
inappropriateness of a proposed scheme for a mock Tudor moated mansion on the topof a hill. The grounds for refusal included the adverse impact on landscape character,
because such large houses traditionally occupy lower sites on the valley sides and
valley bottom, where they fit well into topography and historic landscape character.
Epworth, the Isle of AxholmeEpworth, in the Isle of Axholme, North Lincolnshire, is a settlement surrounded by
unenclosed open fields that have been cultivated in strips since the medieval period.
In some areas these have been amalgamated into wider units for modern cereal
farming, while others have survived as narrow strips, often being used to grow
different crops. An application to construct an agricultural storage and workshop
building on one of these narrow strips was refused, prompting an appeal.
Two main factors were considered by the Inspector in determining this appeal:
agricultural need, and the impact on the character and appearance of the countryside.
The effect of the proposal on the historic landscape character was also considered
alongside Policy LC14 in the draft North Lincolnshire Plan 1999 (based on the findings
of the Axholme HLC), which identified that the area should be designated as an Area
of Special Historic Landscape Interest (see page 29). The appeal was refused.
Baldock, HertfordshireHLC was used as evidence to support the case for the preservation of a medieval
road at Baldock, Hertfordshire, in 2000. The road is a distinctive feature in an area
shown by the HLC to be a rare example of historically unenclosed common arable
land. The inspector recognised that the proposed destruction of the road was
contrary to the protection afforded it by the Structure Plan, and ruled against the loss
of this historic feature from the local landscape.
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Spatial Planning
Spencers
Wood,Berkshire
the parkland
threatened by
the proposal
for housing is
to the left of
the photograph Wokingham
District Council
& HuntingAerofilms Ltd.
33
Wokingham District, BerkshireEvidence from the Wokingham District Historic Landscape Survey was used to
demonstrate the importance of the historic landscape in 1999. A year-long PublicInquiry into three proposed large-scale areas of housing development, to the south of
the M4 at Reading in Berkshire, concluded that conservation of historic landscape
character was a material reason for refusal.
The proposal to build 2500 new houses and associated infrastructure at one of the
sites, Grazely, was found to be contrary to both development plan policies and PPG15
(Planning Policy Guidance note 15: Planning and the Historic Environment. At
Shinfield, the potential threat to the integrity of a field system to the east of the
settlement was cited as one reason for refusing the scheme, while at the third site,
Spencers Wood, the threat to historic parkland constituted a material objection.
The Inspector concluded that as far as the historic landscape is concerned, drastic
and undesirable changes would occur with all three proposals.
As for agri-environment schemes,
if HLC is consulted early enough it can
be used to help design development
programmes that are sensitive to thelandscape and in keeping with their
surroundings. For example, HLC
has been used in Hertfordshire for a
large-scale landscape assessment
ahead of housing construction to thewest of the A1.
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Hertfordshire HLC and the Stevenage West of A1(M) ProposalThe aim of this project was to provide information for the local planning authoritys
consideration of applications to build 3200 - 5000 houses on a site west of Stevenagein Hertfordshire. An area much larger than the proposal site was selected for analysis,
allowing the site to be placed in its landscape context, with a remit to use the existing
HLC to assess:
The historic development of the landscape
The extent of ancient field systems (pre-18th century - date of the earliestsurvey map)
The impact of landscape change since 1880
The impact of post-1950 field boundary loss
Most of the field boundaries and other historic landscape features that were present
in the Study Area by the 18th century still survive. Even though the environmental
quality of the fields themselves has in most instances been considerably altered by
agricultural development and their biodiversity much reduced, the historic landscape of
the area retains much of its older character and integrity.
The progressing East of England HLC (which will eventually cover Bedfordshire,
Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire) has shown that such a degree of survival
is rare not only within Hertfordshire but also within the region.
The planning application for the development will go through the public inquiry process
during 2004. It is anticipated that HLC will have some influence on the design of the
development, if it is allowed to proceed. However, should it be granted permission,
pressure will increase dramatically on the wider landscape included in the study,
between Stevenage and Luton. HLC will therefore also be used to inform the strategy
for the long-term management of the historic landscape of this area via agri-
environment schemes and other management agreements.
Using Historic Landscape Characterisation
Stevenage,West of A1
Hertfordshire
County Council.
OS licence
LA 076678
34
Historic Parkland
(dark = pre 19th
Century,
light = 19th Century
and later)
19th and 20th Century
Enclosure
Post-19th Century